PRACTICE CS. Getting Started. version x

Transcription

1 PRACTICE CS Getting Started version x

2 TL (5/23/14) Copyright Information Text copyright by Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Video display images copyright by Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Thomson Reuters hereby grants licensees of CS Professional Suite software the right to reprint this document solely for their internal use. Trademark Information The trademarks used herein are trademarks and registered trademarks used under license. All other brand and product names mentioned in this guide are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

3 Contents Welcome to Practice CS... 1 What is practice management?... 1 A vision of the integrated workplace... 2 Key features... 2 Other features... 3 How to use this guide... 3 Installation Instructions... 5 System requirements... 5 Overview of the Practice CS installation... 6 Installing the software and licenses... 7 Installing Practice CS... 7 Installing the licenses Obtaining and installing licenses via CS Connect Installing licenses received via Running desktop setup (for network installations only) Installing software updates using CS Connect Viewing and printing user bulletins Starting Practice CS and attaching to the sample database Program Overview Navigation Menu bar Toolbar Navigation pane Practice CS Getting Started iii

4 Contents Dashboards Setting up a dashboard Customizing the dashboard Adding dashboard views Saving dashboard layouts Getting help Finding answers in the Help & How-To Center Searching for information Browsing topics by subject Viewing an index of keywords Accessing context-sensitive help Viewing and printing Practice CS guides in PDF Installing Adobe Reader Viewing Practice CS guides Getting help from CS Support and other resources Access the Support page of the CS website Send an message to CS Support Calling CS Support Access the CS website and the ARNE Community Training and consulting Setting Up Practice CS Sample data Initial setup tasks Changing periods Specifying file locations Choosing default invoice and statement formats Setting up service charges Setting up links Setting up custom fields Firm setup Main tab Contact Info tab Categories Additional Contacts Associations Preferences tab iv Practice CS Getting Started

5 Contents Enabling firm security Creating the firm password Integrating with other programs Billing and A/R tab Benefits tab Terminology tab Notifications tab Setting up taxes Setting up taxing authorities Setting up tax areas Office setup Setting up custom fields for offices Setting up offices Staff setup Setting up groupings Setting up staff skill areas and skill ratings Setting up staff rate descriptions Setting up security groups Setting up custom fields for staff Setting up staff records Setting up staff management tools Setting up staff skill sets Setting up qualifications filters Setting staff target hours Setting up staff benefits Editing multiple staff records Editing information for multiple staff members Copying staff billing rates Exporting staff records to FileCabinet CS Activity setup About activities and engagements Setting up activity categories Setting up custom fields for activity records Setting up activities Client setup Setting up client entities Setting up contact categories Practice CS Getting Started v

6 Contents Setting up recurring bill descriptions Setting up engagement categories Setting up engagement templates Setting up custom fields for client records Setting up project management tools Setting up tracking descriptions Setting up project and task templates Setting up project templates Project generation Importing default project templates Setting up task templates Setting up notifications Setting up client population from UltraTax CS or CSA Setting up client records Copying client information Editing multiple client records Exporting clients to FileCabinet CS or ToolBox CS Pre-processing setup Setting up bank accounts Setting up standard text Customizing invoice and statement formats Filtering your data Result limits User-specific setup Staff Dashboard User preferences System tab Time & Expense Entry tab Billing tab Receipt & Adjustment Entry tab Before you begin processing Entering beginning balances Changing processing periods Processing Overview Tracking time and expenses Setting time and expense entry preferences vi Practice CS Getting Started

7 Contents Entering time and expenses Entering time and expenses remotely Managing projects Managing clients Managing staff Billing your clients Setting billing preferences Billing your clients Entering receipts and adjustments Setting up receipt and adjustment entry preferences Entering receipts and adjustments Assessing service charges Reporting Backing up a firm database Scheduling a recurring backup of your firm database Appendix: Setting Up CS Connect CS Connect features Equipment and other requirements Setting up the communication configuration Troubleshooting connection issues Practice CS Getting Started vii

8 Contents viii Practice CS Getting Started

9 Welcome to Practice CS With the advent of new technology for creating dynamic, integrated software applications, we saw an opportunity to provide our customers with a practice management product that would become a convenient hub for a firm s everyday activities. The result is Practice CS, a software solution that combines powerful practice management tools with unprecedented flexibility and the convenience of integration between applications. Practice CS represents the future of practice management, where software adapts to the firm s practices instead of imposing its own structure upon the firm. What is practice management? As a firm grows, the effort needed to carefully track clients, contacts, employee activities, billable hours, and other day-to-day aspects of an accounting practice can quickly become overwhelming. Practice management, then, is a strategy for minimizing the effort involved in staying on top of this information while simultaneously ensuring its accuracy and usefulness. The obvious way to accomplish practice management is through computer software designed specifically for the needs of today s accounting firms, combining powerful features with flexibility, and providing functionality that enhances each employee s ability to tackle the day s tasks, from partners to associates to support personnel. Practice CS is the latest tool for managing your practice, leveraging the power of the Microsoft.NET computing platform to provide enhanced capabilities and ease of use in an application that will quickly become the centerpiece of your workstation s desktop. Practice CS Getting Started 1

10 Welcome to Practice CS A vision of the integrated workplace Imagine a single screen that could provide access to your mail, calendar, tasks, time entry, FileCabinet CS documents, and more. Imagine that you could not only view that information on a single screen, but work with it as well. That is the vision of the integrated workplace, in the form of a digital dashboard and integrated portlets that place multiple sources of information together in a single, interactive setting. Now imagine that you can customize a dashboard exactly the way you like it and that you have a dashboard for each of your clients. The dashboards and portlets of Practice CS make this vision a reality. Portlets are windows that provide up-to-date information drawn from other areas of Practice CS and even from separate applications. A dashboard is a screen that contains one or more portlets. You choose the portlets, and you choose how to arrange them within the dashboard. Beyond the convenience of the dashboard, Practice CS provides comprehensive tools for managing all aspects of your practice, accessible via menu commands, a navigation pane, and the dashboards. You can choose to use the dashboards as much or as little as you want, to place only a few essential bits of information on them or to fill them with everything you might need access to during the course of your day. It s up to you. Key features Practice CS enables you to perform the following tasks: Enter time and expenses Bill your clients Enter receipts and adjustments Assess service charges Print invoices, statements, reports, mailing labels, and letters 2 Practice CS Getting Started

11 Welcome to Practice CS Other features Practice CS offers an endlessly flexible interface through the use of dashboards, which you can configure to place multiple sources of information on a single, interactive screen. When you use Practice CS in conjunction with FileCabinet CS and Microsoft Outlook you can do all of the following from a Practice CS dashboard: Access your calendar Manage your tasks Monitor your View documents stored in FileCabinet CS Practice CS adapts to your practice, rather than vice-versa, by offering the ability to customize the terminology in the program to match your firm s nomenclature. Choose Setup > Firm, click the Terminology tab, then edit the entries as you see fit. Your changes will be reflected throughout the Practice CS interface. Note: You can revert temporarily to the program s default terminology by choosing Help > Enable Default Terminology, which may reduce confusion during calls to CS Product Support. How to use this guide This guide provides an overview of the features available in Practice CS and detailed instructions for installing the software. Chapter 5, Processing Overview, also describes the core features of the program and lists other Practice CS guides available in PDF (portable document format) for you to learn about the program through hands-on exercises using sample data. This guide provides information for: Installing Practice CS. Using the menu commands, toolbar, navigation pane, dashboards, and help. Practice CS Getting Started 3

12 Welcome to Practice CS Understanding basic processing procedures such as entering time and expense information, billing, entering receipts and adjustments, running reports, managing projects and client tasks, managing clients and contacts, and backing up firm data. Setting up Practice CS to suit your firm s needs. Setting up CS Connect. The person who will set up Practice CS for your firm should follow the installation instructions in chapter 2, Installation Instructions, which begins on page 5. That person, plus any partners or other personnel who will have high-level access to the program, should also read chapter 4, Setting Up Practice CS, which begins on page 35. Employees who will use Practice CS will want to read Processing Overview, which begins on page 115, and perform the exercises in the various walkthroughs available in PDF from the Practice CS Help & How-To Center. 4 Practice CS Getting Started

13 Installation Instructions This chapter describes: System requirements. An overview of the steps required to complete the installation. How to install Practice CS. How to use CS Connect to download and install licenses and software updates. How to view and print user bulletins. How to log in to Practice CS and attach to the sample database. System requirements For the latest system requirements information, please visit our website at CS.ThomsonReuters.com. Note that CS Professional Suite applications are designed for professional production work. Our system requirements are based on the assumption that professional accounting firms replace their computer hardware and operating systems approximately every three years. While our software may operate on less powerful hardware and operating systems, we do not believe it will perform at a level suitable for production work in those environments. Of course, as processing speed and RAM are increased, software performance will also improve. We recommend business class computers, which generally offer higher levels of performance than home models when running business applications. Practice CS Getting Started 5

14 Installation Instructions Important! Practice CS may be installed on a supported network or locally on a computer with the Windows XP Professional (or later) operating system with all of the latest service packs installed. Overview of the Practice CS installation To install Practice CS, you will perform the following procedures. Select where the Practice CS shared files reside Files shared by Practice CS installations include files used for integrating with other products, files containing storage and configuration settings, and files required for workstation installations. Enable remote entry If you want your staff to be able to enter information such as time and expenses while away from the office, activate the remote entry feature for your firm database. Configure the database server This step configures the server on which your firm database resides. Install Practice CS Install or update Practice CS and the necessary components. Install the license files Download license files via CS Connect or install license files from . Run desktop setup If you installed Practice CS on a network, run the desktop setup utility to perform a workstation installation on all other computers that will access the software. 6 Practice CS Getting Started

15 Installation Instructions Notes Practice CS uses Microsoft SQL Server (including 2008 Express Edition and later) for storing data. The computer on which the data is located (the SQL server) must be turned on in order for others to access the data. In addition, if you re using a firewall, you must create an exception within the firewall for the instance of SQL Server you are using (recommended) or disable the firewall (not recommended) to run Practice CS. If you need assistance in creating an exception for the instance of SQL Server you are using, please refer to your firewall s documentation or Microsoft knowledgebase article ID ( The computer where the shared files are installed must be turned on in order for the program files to be available to users (workstations). Installing the software and licenses The following sections describe how to install Practice CS and its license files, and how to run desktop setup for network installations. Important! If your firm chooses to install Practice CS in a terminal server environment, be sure to rely only on a qualified and certified terminal server professional to handle the installation. Please refer to Installing CS Professional Suite Software in a Terminal Server Environment Overview (PDF accessible from our website) for general information to provide to your firm s terminal server technician. Installing Practice CS Important! If you are installing Practice CS on a network, you must be present at the database server during the initial installation. Perform the following procedure to install Practice CS to the network or to a standalone workstation. If you purchased a license for the network version and install the program files on the network, you need only perform this procedure once. You should then install the license files on the network (as described on page 11) and perform a workstation installation on all other computers that will access the software (as described on page 13). Practice CS Getting Started 7

16 Installation Instructions Notes In many cases, you will install the program files from the CD, but you can also choose to download and install Practice CS from our website. Because the download involves a large amount of data, downloading from the website is recommended only if you have a high-speed internet connection. The installation process may require that you restart the computer on which you are installing the program. If you are installing the program on a network, be sure that your network administrator selects a time to install when all other users have logged off the network. 1. On the computer where the database will reside, verify that you are logged in as an administrator. 2. Close all open applications, including background virus protection software. 3. Do one of the following: If you downloaded the product installation file from our website: Navigate to and double-click the EXE file that you downloaded to extract the files to the default folder (C:\Practice CS <version> Download) or to another folder of your choosing. If the installation wizard does not start automatically, navigate to the folder to which you extracted the files and double-click Setup.exe. If you are installing from a CD: Insert the CD into the disc drive on your computer. If the installation program does not start automatically, click Start on the Windows taskbar, choose Run, enter the command D:\SETUP (where D represents the letter of your disc drive), and click OK. Note: If you do not yet have a web account, you will be prompted to establish one when you attempt to download software from our website. 4. When Practice CS Setup starts, click the Install Practice CS link. The wizard will guide you through the rest of the installation. 8 Practice CS Getting Started

17 Installation Instructions 5. On the Welcome to Practice CS Setup screen, click Yes to verify that you are installing the program on the computer that you want to designate as the Database Server. Click Next to continue. Note: If you click the No option, you will be prompted to start again on the computer that will function as your database server. 6. Read the CS Professional Suite Software License Agreement, mark the I accept the terms of the License Agreement checkbox, and click Next to continue. 7. For Installation Step 1, click Next to select where the Practice CS shared files reside. Files shared by Practice CS installations are used for integration with other products, for storage of configuration settings, and for workstation installation files. Click the button, then navigate to the appropriate folder. If you are not going to run Practice CS on a network, this folder is usually C:\WINCSI. If you run Practice CS on a network, select a shared network folder such as X:\WINCSI or \\<name of network share>\wincsi. Click OK, and then click Next to continue. 8. The setup wizard now provides the option to allow Remote Entry, which enables your staff to perform functions such as time and expense entry without a connection to your office network. If you want to allow Remote Entry, click the Allow Remote Entry to be enabled on other computers option and then click Next. 9. For Installation Step 2, click Next to configure this computer as the database server for Practice CS. Practice CS requires an instance of SQL Server. If your computer does not have an instance of SQL Server, the only available option will be Install a new instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition SP1. If your computer already has SQL Server, you may use an existing instance or use the CREATIVESOLUTION instance. If you choose to use CREATIVESOLUTION or another existing instance of SQL Server, mark the option and click Next to select that instance and configure it for use with Practice CS. To use an existing instance, it must be version 2008 or later. Practice CS Getting Started 9

18 Installation Instructions If you choose to install a new instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition SP1, mark the option and click Next to install and configure it for use with Practice CS. You will need to provide a unique name for the new instance. Click Next to specify where you want your Practice CS database to reside. This cannot be a network folder. SQL requires this folder to be on this computer. Note: If an instance of SQL server already exists on your computer (for example, if you have previously installed another program from the CS Professional Suite that uses an SQL database), we recommend that you select the existing instance, unless it is older than version This will enable you to conserve both disk space and processing resources. If you choose to use a different instance or install a new instance, you must back up your database before continuing. After installation is complete, start Practice CS and restore your database. When finished, click Next to continue. 10. You may be prompted that the sample database already exists. Click Yes to replace the database with a fresh copy, or No to preserve your existing copy of the sample database. 11. For Installation Step 3, click Next, then determine whether the Practice CS program files should be installed on the computer that also functions as your database server. If you want to run Practice CS on this computer, click the Install Practice CS so that I am able to run it on this computer option and then click Next. If you want this computer to function only as the database server, click the Skip installing Practice CS on this computer, this computer will be used as the Practice CS database server only option, then click Next and skip to step The installation program now installs Practice CS and the necessary components. Any components not already checked will be installed. Your computer may need to be restarted one or more times during this step. Click Next to install Practice CS and any unchecked components. 10 Practice CS Getting Started

19 Installation Instructions 13. The setup wizard now displays instructions for completing the Practice CS setup for a network. As described on page 13, you will need to run the desktop setup program at each computer that will run Practice CS. You can save or print these instructions. Click Next to continue. 14. When you are prompted that the installation is complete, click Finish. If you want to immediately launch Practice CS, leave the Run Practice CS checkbox marked. Installing the licenses After you install the program files, the next step is to install the licenses for Practice CS. In most cases, you will use CS Connect to obtain and install the licenses. However, in rare cases, you may receive a license file via . If you received a license file via , please skip the following procedure and proceed to Installing licenses received via on page 12. Otherwise, complete the following procedure to install the licenses for your Practice CS software. Obtaining and installing licenses via CS Connect Complete the following procedure to open Practice CS and use CS Connect to obtain and install the licenses electronically. 1. Verify that you are logged in to your computer or server as an administrator. 2. Double-click the Practice CS shortcut icon that was added to your desktop when you installed the program files (or click Start on the Windows taskbar and choose All Programs > Creative Solutions > Practice CS). 3. Click Cancel to close the login dialog. 4. To open CS Connect, choose Help > About Practice CS, and click the Download Licenses button. 5. Enter your firm ID (found on your mailing label) and mailing address ZIP code, and then click Next. 6. If the Connect Communications Setup dialog appears (as shown in the following illustration), you need to verify or select the various communications settings applicable to your system so that you can communicate with the Thomson Reuters data center. For details, see Practice CS Getting Started 11

20 Installation Instructions Setting up the communication configuration on page 135. When you are finished verifying your communications settings, click OK to close the Connect Communications Setup dialog. 7. In the CS Connect dialog, click OK. CS Connect logs in to the Thomson Reuters data center and downloads your licenses. 8. Follow the remaining prompts to install the licenses. Note: At any future time, you can restart the process to obtain and install licenses via CS Connect. To do so, choose File > CS Connect, mark the Retrieve licenses checkbox, and click the Call Now button. Installing licenses received via 1. If you received a Practice CS license file via , please follow the instructions in that message and then follow the steps below. 12 Practice CS Getting Started

21 Installation Instructions 2. The installation wizard prompts you to choose the destination location for Practice CS. You need to choose the folder where the shared files are installed. (The final destination for the program should be a folder called \WINCSI. For example, you may have installed your shared files in F:\APPS\WINCSI.) 3. After you have verified the destination path, click Next to continue with the installation. Important! Even if you received your original license files via , all updates to your Practice CS license information are available only via CS Connect. If you require an updated license in the future (for example, if you purchase a license for an optional add-on module later), you will need to download and install the updated license via CS Connect, as described in Obtaining and installing licenses via CS Connect on page 11. Running desktop setup (for network installations only) If you installed the shared files on a network, you must also run the desktop setup program on each workstation. The desktop setup program ensures that each workstation meets the minimum operating system requirements and confirms that all required components are installed. Practice CS Getting Started 13

22 Installation Instructions The desktop setup program adds to each workstation s desktop a shortcut to the single network installation of Practice CS (on your firm s server). This keeps all global files and data in a single location on the server. Network users should not install the full program on their own local workstations. To run the desktop setup program from each workstation, do the following. 1. Verify that you are logged in to your computer as an administrator. 2. Close all open applications. 3. Click Start on the Windows taskbar and choose Run. 4. In the Run dialog, enter Z:\path\Practice CS\Desktop\Setup.exe (where Z represents the mapped drive letter for the network path to the server on which you installed the shared files, and path is the path to your Practice CS folder). For example, if you installed the shared files in F:\WINAPPS\WINCSI, you would need to enter F:\WINAPPS\WINCSI\Practice CS\Desktop\Setup.exe in the Run dialog or \\<name of server>\winapps\wincsi\practice CS\Desktop\Setup.exe. Note: If you need to uninstall the Practice CS desktop setup from a workstation, follow these steps: In Windows 7 or Vista, choose Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features, select Practice CS, and then click the Uninstall button. In Windows XP, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs, select Practice CS, and then click the Change/Remove button. 5. Click OK. The setup wizard installs or updates Practice CS and the necessary components. You may need to restart your computer one or more times during this step. 6. When prompted to enable or disable Remote Entry, click the desired option and then click Next. 7. Remote Entry requires a local installation of Microsoft SQL Server, version 2008 or later. If you chose to enable Remote Entry, you will be prompted to select an existing instance of SQL Server, or to install a new instance. 14 Practice CS Getting Started

23 Installation Instructions Select an existing instance of SQL Server to use for Remote Entry, or click the option to install a new instance. Then click Next. 8. When prompted that the Practice CS setup has been successfully completed, click Finish. Installing software updates using CS Connect Occasionally, we issue software updates for Practice CS between CD releases. Such updates are available only via CS Connect, which is installed automatically when you install Practice CS. We highly recommend that you use CS Connect to retrieve available software updates on a regular basis. You can also sign up for an subscription service that alerts you to the availability of program updates by visiting the My Account section of our website at CS.ThomsonReuters.com. To start CS Connect from within Practice CS, choose File > CS Connect. Note: For more information, choose Help > Help & How-To, click the Contents button, click the CS Connect book in the Contents frame, and then click the Overview of CS Connect page. Viewing and printing user bulletins We issue user bulletins for several reasons: To inform users about any issues related to the initial release of the software. To inform users about changes made to the software. To inform users of any other relevant issues. Whenever you install program files, and whenever you use CS Connect to download and apply software updates, new user bulletins open automatically the next time you start Practice CS. To view and print user bulletins later, complete the following steps. Practice CS Getting Started 15

24 Installation Instructions Note: You must have an active internet connection and Adobe Reader version 9.0 or higher installed on your computer to view and print the user bulletins. If you don t have the current version or if you have difficulty opening the guides, you can download and install the latest version of Adobe Reader from Adobe.com. 1. From the Help menu, choose Bulletins to open the Practice CS user bulletins help topic in your default browser. 2. Do one of the following. To view the current user bulletin, click the link under View the current user bulletin. To view a user bulletin from a prior release, click the appropriate link under View user bulletins from prior releases. The user bulletin PDF opens. Starting Practice CS and attaching to the sample database Follow these steps to log in to the program using the Sample database. You can use this example database to explore Practice CS while following this guide. 1. To start Practice CS, click Start on the Windows taskbar and choose Programs > Creative Solutions > Practice CS. 2. To log in, click the button in the Open Firm field and select Sample from the drop-down list. 3. In the Staff ID field, enter CAT. 16 Practice CS Getting Started